


Taking Chances

by ziskandra



Category: The Outer Worlds (Video Game)
Genre: Character Study, F/F, aka Ellie Fenhill's reflections on friends and family, and also kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:41:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22224262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ziskandra/pseuds/ziskandra
Summary: “You took me home to meet your parents,” the Captain answers sweetly, “honestly, I thought we were already dating.”After confessing their attraction to one another, Ellie and the Captain examine the next steps for their relationship.
Relationships: Female Captain/Ellie Fenhill, The Captain/Ellie Fenhill
Comments: 12
Kudos: 120
Collections: The City and the Stars 2019





	Taking Chances

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sumi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sumi/gifts).



The Unreliable is in orbit above Monarch again by the time Ellie truly stops to think about everything that’s happened these past few days. Her parents. Her captain. Her crewmates. Her friends.

She’s never really had friends before, not like the ones that appear in the serials, people that she can rely on and be relied upon by in return. It’s true, what she’d told the Captain: the friends she’d made in the past were the sort to rob you blind while you were drunk, and Ellie was satisfied with that. After growing up in Byzantium, it was refreshingly dishonest.

It’s such a stupid cliché, but everything feels different now, shifted slightly sideways, as though she’s looking at everything with fresh eyes. She shares a drink or two with Nyoka in the hallway and finds she’s unable to enjoy it as much as she’s used to, doubt clawing at the corner of her mind as she bites back concern about the other woman’s mental state.

Even heckling the Vicar – Vicky – isn’t quite the same anymore: even though he reacts the same way he always does, with haughty holier-than-thou arrogance, it doesn’t get under her skin the way it used to, the way it made defensiveness bubble up in her blood.

Felix… she worries about him, she realizes, because everyone knows the damn boy won’t worry about himself. Nonetheless, she’s grateful that his wake-up call from wide-eyed idealism doesn’t appear to have changed much about who he is as a person. He’s a good kid. Ellie hopes he doesn’t become as fucked up as she is.

Parvati, now, the way she regards Parvati hasn’t changed much but she figures some things in this Void-damned universe have to stay the same.

All-in-all, it’s just another normal day on The Unreliable, Ellie’s just thinking on it differently now. Reflecting.

It doesn’t escape her notice that the Captain is conspicuously absent this evening, but then again, Cap was always the type of woman who enjoyed her own company.

*

It’s some hours later that Ellie retires to her own room, ready to simply roll into bed and let her mind wind down. She doesn’t check the corners for mysterious strangers, so she’s not looking in any particular direction when a quiet, yet familiar, voice attracts her attention.

“Hey.”

Ellie turns, now unsurprised to see the Captain standing at the far side of the room, two bottles of Zero Gee Brew in her hands. Arching an eyebrow, Ellie stays silent, knowing that Cap will explain herself without any further encouragement.

“Wanted to see how you were holding up,” the Captain continues, holding out one of the drinks to Ellie.

Groaning, Ellie accepts the offered bottle. “I thought we already got through all that mushy crap,” she says with a wave of the hand, yet uncapping the bottle all the same. If the Captain is going to insist on talking more about this shit, then Ellie’s at the least grateful she had the good sense to bring alcohol. All they need is some Purpleberry Punch and some Spectrum Vodka and this could even be a real party.

“Yeah,” the Captain agrees, the expression on her face turning to something more… wistful? Shit, it was times like these that Ellie wishes she was better at reading people. “You’re right. We’ve talked about that enough.” She gestures at Ellie’s unmade bed. “Mind if I sit?”

Ellie nods, not because she minds but because the Captain is, of course, allowed. Didn’t even need to ask, to be honest.

“There’s something else I wanted to talk you about,” the Captain continues once she’s seated herself, prim and proper like an utter fucking lady. Ellie sits down beside her, heavily and far less elegantly. When had she started to care about things like that? Their knees are touching.

“Then tell me,” Ellie says simply. She’s always been a straight shooter. That is, so long as the Captain keeps to her promise not to bring up feelings again.

The Captain’s hand is at Ellie’s jawline, pulling her face closer. It takes her a moment to process exactly what’s happening and it’s only a split second before their lips crash together and one of Ellie’s hands finds itself gripping onto the Captain’s shoulder as though holding on for dear life, as though she’s the captain in Ellie’s own personal storm and ugh, ugh, when did she start getting so sappy?

It’s Cap who breaks off the kiss, pulling away with a wicked grin and shining eyes. “I’d apologize, but I did tell you I’m a doer, not a talker.”

Ellie finds her own smile mirroring the Captain’s own, fingers itching to take the other woman’s face into her hands again now that she’s prepared and understands what’s going on. “Warning duly noted and disregarded,” she answers, unable to fully quash the jittery feeling in the pit of her stomach.

It’s honestly dreadful. The utter worst.

Still, Ellie perseveres. “Glad you picked up on my hints, though.” Truth be told, Ellie had been harboring a thing for The Captain for a while, which was strange because she didn’t usually go for authority figures and the captain of a ship was as right up there as you could get when one was a merc-for-hire. Besides, she’d promised Cap that she’d keep her nose out of the other woman’s business, but that was unfortunately before Ellie had realised she’d wanted to get her nose all up in The Captain’s business, to…

She’s getting distracted. It can all be summed up by one simple saying: don’t screw crew. But they’re not just crew anymore. They’ve been through too much together for that.

“You took me home to meet your parents,” the Captain answers sweetly, “honestly, I thought we were already dating.”

Ellie flounders, not wanting to admit the real reason for inviting the captain along, not wanting to dwell upon the past admonishments of Marilyn, no-one will ever want you if you act like that, but she suspects that the Captain already knows. She’d met Ellie’s parents, had seen them for who they were. It’s not like they had gone to any great lengths to hide it.

She’d wanted to prove she’d made something of herself, without their assistance, but Lionel and Theodora hadn’t given a shit. It stung, but at least she’d got her money in the end. Her parents wanted her dead? That was just fine by her: she had no qualms about making the estrangement more permanent.

It hurts, but she’s been hurt before.

At least now she has something – someone – to tend her wounds with. Stitches were all well and good but they didn’t work quite right on these sort of injuries, the pain that lingered beneath the flesh, beyond the bone and muscle.

Finally giving into temptation, for restraint has never been her virtue, Ellie cups the Captain’s face with a hand and pulls her in for another kiss. It’s been a long time since her lips have met another’s like this, with sincerity and tenderness.

It doesn’t stay that way for long, though, though neither woman would be surprised by the development: no-one would describe either of them as particularly sedate, and Ellie almost spills her beer as she pushes Cap back onto the bed, legs moving to straddle her as she lowers her lips to place a trail of sloppy kisses down the soft curve of the other woman’s neck.

Bottles now safely secured, the Captain laughs as though tickled, fingers gripping tightly into Ellie’s hips. “You know,” she starts, before Ellie nips at her skin resulting in a sharp intake of breath, “we’re going to have to talk someday.”

“Yeah,” Ellie agrees, the interruption enough to ground her momentarily, even though her mind still strives to race with the heady combination of lust and uncertainty. “But not today.”

“Not today,” Cap answers easily, hands skimming up Ellie’s sides, “but whatever this is, building between us? I want to give it a chance.”

 _A chance_. The words ring in her head as she realises it’s what she wanted all along: the opportunity to be a better person than she was, the possibility of mattering to someone for who she was and not simply what she can provide.

Shit. She feels like crying.

Maybe she should let it happen, but she can’t quite bring herself to do it just yet.

“A chance,” Ellie says in simple agreement before leaning in for one more kiss.

She could get use to taking chances, she thinks.


End file.
